The government in Ukraine announced Monday that it captured two wounded Russian soldiers in the eastern part of the country and plans to prosecute them as Moscow continues to the deny the existence of the troops in its neighboring country.

"Despite allegations and despite official statements of the Russian Federation about the absence of the Russian troops in eastern Ukraine, we are ready to present evidence of the opposite," Ukrainian Gen. Viktor Muzhenko told reporters during a news conference. "We know their names, their military ranks, as well as their military stations."

"(Yerofeyev and Aleksandrov) were not active servicemen in the Russian armed forces at the moment of their capture on May 17," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Monday. "We have checked up on the information of the Ukrainian side — these boys previously have in fact served in one of the Russian military units and have military training."

Konashenkov's announcement attempted to bolster the claim of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has also said that there are no Russian troops in Ukraine.

"I am telling you openly and unambiguously: There are no Russian troops in Ukraine," Putin said as recently as last month, noted the Moscow Times.

The government in Ukraine announced Monday that it captured two wounded Russian soldiers in the eastern part of the country and plans to prosecute them as Moscow continues to the deny the existence of the troops in its neighboring country.